Shoe



SePt- 4, 1934. H. SCHNEIDER' 1,972,249

Filed Nov. 26, 1930 Jnventar:

Patented Sept. 4, 1934 RAT-ENT O'FFIC SHOE Heinrich Schneider, Erfurt, Germany Application November 26, 1930, Serial No. 498,313

In Germany February 19, 1930 1 Claim.

My invention relates to boots and shoes having raised heels and .is an improvement in or modication of my co-pending application for which Letters Patent No. 1,815,164 issued July 21, 1931. The object of the present invention is to,

provide improvements wherebythe cost of production and the weight of the footwear are vreduced and at the same time` the flexibility, and thus the comfort of the boot or shoe, is increased. It is known that many foot troubles are vcaused by the hitherto unavoidable stiffness of the shank, that is the portion of the soie running through between the heel and the front part of the foot and forming the arched instep portion of the shoe. This stiffness of the shank is caused by the fact that the latter is supposed to act also as a support for the arch of the foot. As this support must be capable of resistance to flattening, the necessity for flexibility of the shank has hitherto been almost ignored. The foot, therefore, particularly when walking uphill, has great difficulty in adapting itself to the shape of the shoe floor, whereby fatigue and permanent injuries are caused.

The principle which forms the basis of this invention is the fact that the longitudinal arch of the foot receives its support exclusively through the protuberance of the 'fifth metatarsal bone, that is, only at one place, and that it is therefore not necessary to make the 4whole shank of the shoe stiff, provided this protuberance is adequately supported by some suitable means. According to the invention, therefore, the heel on the outside of the foot down to about the protuberance of the fifth metatarsal bone is enlarged and the shank separated and made easily pliable and independent of the walking sole which extends only over the front of the foot and is joined to the upper. At the same time the part of the heel supo porting the protuberance is placed somewhat lower to give an elastic support. With this arrangement of the heel, the separately made shank has the greatest flexibility. It is thus possible for the shoe to have the out sole extending only over the 5 front part of the foot, a previously unattainable layer, preferably cut out possibility of fitting with the movement of the foot in walking, without the foot arch pressing through under the weight of the body. At the same time the invention causes a considerable saving in leather'for the soles and greatly reduces the weight of the boots and shoes.

In one form of construction invention the shank is formed by two or more layers placed over one another. The outside lying of upper leather. should vaccording to the be sewn on to the upper or on to the inner sole by the widened edge extending over the lower layers.

One constructional example is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 shows a shoe in a vertical sectional eleo vation.

Fig. 2 is a plan looking at the under side of the shoe.-

The upper a is folded at its lower end under the inner sole c as at b. The walking sole or outsole d' extends' only over .the length of the front of the foot'and is, in the usual manner, bound to the upper a and the inner sole c. The heel g is prolonged along the outside of the shoel approximately as far as to the protuberance of the fth metatarsal bone, shown in Fig. 1 by d, land at this point is made lower than the rest of the heel by a small amount s, for example one to two millimeters. By this means the protuberance is supported elastically. The shank extending between the heel g and the walking sole d consists of two shank pieces e and f placed on top of one another on the portion b of the upper, the piece e being preferably made of thin sole leather and the piece f of upper leather. n than the shank piece e and is sewn with a seam h through to the upper a and the inner sole c, so that the shank piece e is held in position without further xing. If necessary the piece e can be itself tacked to the inner sole. The shank pieces e and ,f are overlapped at their ends by the heel y and the walking sole d. Y

Naturally the shoe can be otherwise constructed in any desired manner, for instance it may be built as a welted shoe.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:-

As a new article of manufacture, a shoe adapted to support the human foot through the protuberance of the fifth metatarsal bone, comprising in g5 combination, an upper, an inner sole, a walking or tap sole extending only underl the front part of the foot, a shank including at least two superposed leather-like layers, the outside layer having extended edges sewn to said upper independent The shank piece f is wider 80 

